Serena Williams moves into Australian Open final
A sixth Australian Open title is now within Serena Williams’ reach.
The top-ranked player in the world advanced to the women’s final Thursday with a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over American upstart Madison Keys.
Williams will play No. 2 Maria Sharapova on Saturday. She hasn’t lost to the Russian in 15 straight matches dating back to 2004.
"She's a wonderful player and always wants to get better," Williams said of Sharapova after the match. "I take pride in my record, my game matches up well with hers."
Williams outlasted Keys in the first set but the 19-year-old looked like a veteran. Her high-powered serve matched Williams with seven aces apiece, and in the tiebreak Keys twice rallied from behind only to lose on a forehand error.
The second set belonged to Williams but Keys again went down fighting. Down 1-5, Keys fought off seven match points over 11 tense minutes to hold.
Williams ended the drama in the next game and embraced Keys at the net.
#Serena on #Keys "She's obviously a great player. It's great to see her doing so well. She'll be winning Grand Slams soon" #ausopen
— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2015
The tournament was a coming out party for Keys, who had yet to go farther than the third round at a Grand Slam.
Williams meanwhile will be looking to add her name to the record book. A victory against Sharapova will tie her with Steffi Graf for the most Slam titles in the Open Era at 19.